An Emperor's Youth
by redninjalass19
Summary: An early graduation, a unique bloodline and an insane teacher are just the start of Naruto's shinobi career. The missions and his training are all that matters as he aims for the top, adamant that he can make it alone. Naruto is a smart guy with a knack for taijutsu but can he learn what it truly means to be a shinobi of Konoha?
1. Graduation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; it belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.**

 **I do not own the profile image**

 **This story is based on a challenge from** **misterfn** **, about what would happen if Naruto had a bloodline based on Akashi's Emperor Eye from Kuroko no Basuke.**

 **For future reference, Naruto is 9 and has graduated 3 years early. Team Gai will not graduate for another two years and I won't reveal what that means for our favourite blond until much later in the story.**

 **So this is the first chapter to see if my ideas for this challenge are actually worth reading.**

 **I hope you enjoy and please let me know if this story is good enough to continue. I don't want to disrespect a great idea.**

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Chapter 1: **Graduation**

"It's time for the taijutsu and weapon-handling portion of the test"

A blond head lifted lazily off the desk; a stark contrast to his tense and alert classmates around him. Despite being three years younger, the tiny blond was one of the more promising students, if only in a limited area.

The group of children made their way out to the tree stumps, chattering nervously between themselves. The blond held himself apart, catching the glares from the older children.

They had been furious when he had been moved to their class and had tried to make him move down. It hadn't helped when the parents had started encouraging them, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

After today he wouldn't have to deal with them. It would be much easier to ignore them when there was only two trying to make his life hell. One would think they would have learned to leave him alone after every taijutsu practice, but their arrogance never ceased.

They reached the portion of the training grounds with the stumps and Hideki-sensei stood before them with a clipboard.

"This is the weapon-handling portion. You have 5 kunai and 5 shuriken. The target in front of you has been divided into sections, so the closer to the centre you hit the more points you score. It is out of 100, and the resulting percentage will go towards your final score. Any questions?" he asked, scanning the group.

There could be a few good ones in the batch this year. Daisuke was in line for rookie of the year, but Kichirou and Ren were looking promising. Midori and Kaede were in prime position for top kunoichi.

Hideki spotted a tuft of blond in amongst the excited children. The Kyūbi container. He knew better than to judge the boy for the fox, and he trusted Yondaime-sama's fūinjutsu, but he could never bring himself to defend the boy.

No matter how many times he told to boy to wake up in class or told him off for skipping or for eating in class, he was never able to forget what lay within the boy. What could tear him apart in seconds.

He was favoured by the Hokage and well-known around the training grounds for his endless routines. Running, weights, katas; the boy never stopped moving. He generally kept away from people though he was rumoured to frequent a local ramen stand in the village.

His written tests were shoddy at best, and he was predicted to barely scrape by. He was definitely not an academic; though from his few interactions with the boy it wasn't because he lacked the brainpower.

The same for the jutsu; his bunshin always looked as though they were suffering from poisoning. He had managed the henge and the kawarimi in the past, but there was not much hope in a future with ninjutsu.

But there was a part of being a shinobi that the boy excelled in beyond all others in the class.

The students threw their weapons as their names were called. Hideki marked the scores down, making his way through the alphabet. They were doing okay, though the level required of genin had dropped since the end of the war.

Peacetime was treating this generation well, if not their scores.

"Uzumaki Naruto"

The boy stepped forward, his surname meaning he would be last. Hideki looked him over, silently asking if he was ready.

He had black shorts to his knees, the bottom of them bandaged up. The black sandals matched the black shirt he wore, the wrists also bandaged. The whole outfit was designed to allow the least drag when he was moving, and the enemy less chance of using the clothing against him.

Hideki would have approved if it were not for the orange.

Orange stripes ran down the sides of his shorts and he wore a bright orange, sleeveless open hoodie. A stark contrast to the black beneath. The hoodie too was a disadvantage in a fight as it could be grabbed and used against him.

The boy did not seem to care in the slightest.

His spiky blond hair was short, though it still hung slightly over his eyes. The cerulean blue eyes flickered around him, as if constantly searching for a threat. The scars on either side of his face defined his status and made him a target.

Despite himself, Hideki felt slightly guilty. He had never done anything to the boy, but at the same time he had never done anything to help him either.

The boy picked up the kunai first, flipping it around in his hand a few times. Hideki swore he could see a flash of silver in the boy's left eye as he threw the five in quick succession.

He noted down the score, as one of the other chunin took them out from the centre ring. The boy picked up the shuriken and faced the target once more.

Hideki saw a rock make it way to the boy's face in the corner of his eye. He made no move to intercept, but he noted the student who had thrown it. Kichirou, while being an excellent student, tended to be a bit vicious to the younger boy.

The blond boy suddenly snapped one of his hands back and deflected the rock with one of the shuriken without removing his gaze from the stump.

"I'd just like to finish the test, Kichi-teme" the boy said quietly, lining up his shuriken.

There were 5 thuds and Hideki noted down the final score.

100.

He had no idea how the boy did it, but sometimes Hideki could swear that the boy possessed the Byakugan. But at the same time, there were incidents when he could say the same for the Sharingan.

He was far too aware, too observant. He never missed a detail. Though, it just seemed to be only movement he was able to utilise, not chakra. It hardly mattered with the precision the boy possessed.

"Okay, now we are going to head to the taijutsu area. You will be paired up and scored on your performance. Even if you lose, you still have a chance to earn some decent points. So work hard and remember your training. No weapons and no ninjutsu. You stop when I say so, not when you think so" he said, guiding the rabble to the flat, dusty ground on the opposite side of the grounds to the stumps.

The next two hours were spent grading the student on their ability to beat each other up. Not the most enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, but some of the moves they managed to come up with definitely were worth watching.

Hideki had not really notice how _dirty_ his class fought compared to the others. A kid had hooked another by his nostrils and dragged him. _Nostrils_. While tactically it made sense, as it was a vulnerable spot and could restrict their breathing, he simply could not fathom how an academy student came up with it.

Though Hideki supposed that it was better for them to learn early that there was no such thing as dirty fighting with shinobi; there was a survivor and a corpse.

They had the basic academy style down and apart from the unique moves some came up with, the class all fought in a similar style. He reached the end of the list and called out the last two names.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Ueda Kichirou"

The two students stepped forward, both glaring at the other. They had bad blood between them, but it was the way the surnames worked. The blond looked up at the brunet, the 4 inch difference making itself obvious.

Kichirou was built solidly, partly due to his distant relation to the Akimichi. Straight brown hair stuck up in tufts and the green t-shirt and brown trousers were plain. His yellow eyes glared down at the boy, promising to rip him to pieces.

The younger boy just kept glaring, his blue eyes unreadable.

Hideki raised his arm, and brought it down, yelling " _Begin_ ".

The boys reluctantly gave a shallow bow, and fell into their stances. Hideki noticed that while Kichirou's was the exact stance that was taught to them, the other boy's was a hybrid version. It was looser, more relaxed; as if he were expecting a lovely spar.

Both boys remained still, seeking out the other's weakness.

Hideki looked at the blond boy and saw one of his eyes was shining silver. He had noticed it before, but had never asked the boy directly. It was none of his business what was happening to the container; he was just required to teach him the necessary coursework.

Strangely, his stomach twisted slightly at the dismissive thought.

Uzumaki looked the other boy's feet for a moment, and then lifted his eyes to stare straight into his opponents. Smirking slightly, he walked forward pulling out a shuriken and throwing it from hand to hand.

Kichirou looked at him confused, but darted forward, his fist swinging for a strike. His lips curled into a cruel grin.

Uzumaki calmly continued fiddling with the tool, passing it back and forth between his hands. He slowed his walk and moved side to side, his eyes never leaving Kichirou's.

Kichirou smirked as the punch headed straight for Uzumaki's head. His eyes suddenly widened as he felt his right ankle give way, thrusting him to the ground. He barely had time to push himself up when he felt himself flying out the ring. The edges of his vision faded to black as the pain throbbed red.

Uzumaki set down his leg, placing the shuriken back into his pouch and looked at Hideki.

Hideki shook his head calling the match and motioned for assistance to be given to Kichirou.

One area that Uzumaki was yet to be beaten was taijutsu, but that move was new. Kichirou usually had excellent balance so for his ankle to give way; the other boy must have done something. Though his written tests were far from stellar, the boy was not stupid.

As the blond boy left the ring, Hideki leaned over.

"You did not need to use a roundhouse to finish the match. That was unnecessary violence" he admonished, slightly taken aback by the glare from the boy.

"I won. That is all that matters" the boy replied, walking back in the direction of the classroom.

Hideki sighed, knowing he was right. He ordered the children to go back to the classroom for the final portion of the test, allowing the other teachers to finish up with the wounded students.

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"Congratulations to those whose names that have been called out. You shall return here at 0800 tomorrow for your team assignments, and for those that failed; the remedial classes begin at the same time the day after. Dismissed" Hideki-sensei announced.

Naruto tied his hitai-ate to his right bicep and stood, ignoring the laughter and wails of his once fellow classmates.

"Uzumaki, report to Hokage-sama's office instead of here for you assignment" Hideki called after him.

Naruto nodded once and left the room, not bothering to say goodbye. The sooner he could leave this class behind the better; there was nothing there for him anyway.

He had passed and that was all that mattered.

But why would Jiji need to see him for teams?

Naruto weaved between the hoards of waiting parents, ignoring the glares directed at him. As he heard the occasional 'Kyūbi brat', he adjusted the brand new hitai-ate on his bicep, which gleamed in the setting sun.

It was hardly his fault he got stuck with the demon that destroyed the village; it wasn't as if the Yondaime stopped and asked if he wanted to be discriminated against for the rest of his life. He had only been a day old, yet the villagers had reasoned that he was to blame anyway.

If he really had anything to do with the furball, he probably wouldn't be ignoring them.

Anyway, he would never have to go near the academy again and now he was a genin, it would be much easier to avoid people. Thank Kami Hokage-Jiji allowed him the option of graduating early; if he had had to wait until he was 12 he would have killed someone.

Most likely Kichi-teme, but he was open to suggestions.

Now he just had to hope he got a jounin-sensei that would not care about his tenant. Hideki-sensei was indifferent, which was the best thing that could of happened, but he would have to spend far more time with the jounin.

Hokage-jiji would probably put him with a taijutsu specialist since that was his best subject. His bloodline was a definite asset but he didn't want to always depend on it. What if he was blinded by the enemy?

Whoever his jounin-sensei turned out to be, he could just do his own training anyway so there was no point in dissecting his or her potential identity. The real problem lay in his future team mates; judging by past years he would be with Daisuke and Midori as the dead-last was always put with the rookie of the year and the top kunoichi, due to some crap like 'balancing the teams'.

It could be worse - Kichi-teme to name one – but Naruto had never been great with teamwork exercises. They treated him as he was an idiot while in actuality they were the idiots. He could force himself to if it was vital to the task at hand, but that was not a great base to build a team from.

The only reason his academic grades were shit was it was all about useless stuff, like which dead man fought which dead man. That wouldn't help him survive a bandit attack.

Shaking his head he arrived at his destination, the place being empty as it was not quite time for the dinner rush. Which suited Naruto just fine. He walked up to the counter and hopped on the stool, a small grin made its way onto his face as he saw who was there.

"Teuchi-ji-san, Ayame-nee, four miso ramen to start please" he bellowed, catching their attention.

"Naruto-kun, I take it you passed?" the old man asked, starting on the order.

He ramen stand owner was one of the few people that Naruto cared for. Ever since he gave that first free bowl to a starving orphan hiding from the rain, he had gained Naruto's everlasting loyalty. He had been coming back almost daily ever since.

A young girl of twelve stuck her head up from behind the counter. Her long brown hair was tied back into a white bandana and her dark eyes sparkled. Her outfit matched her father's, with her passion for ramen equalling his.

"You got that thing on your arm that the other do" she smiled, leaning forward to tap it.

Naruto turned slightly to present his arm, a proud grin on his face. He didn't need anyone else as long as these two were there for him. And now he was officially a ninja, he could protect them. He would protect them.

"Well, well, I bet you blew them all away" Teuchi said, placing the first bowl in front of the genin.

"My taijutsu saved my ass and I finally made that move I have been working on useable. But now I don't have all those teme's hounding me, I will get stronger" Naruto said between mouthfuls of ramen.

A flicker of sadness crossed Teuchi's face for but a moment, but Naruto spotted it easily, far too used to seeing it.

"Teuchi-ji-san, I'm not lonely. I have been fine without comrades this far and it doesn't matter as long as the task is completed" Naruto sighed, diving into the next bowl slower than the first.

It was an old argument between them. Teuchi was adamant that Naruto need to bond with others his age and learn to work with other shinobi. Naruto on the other hand was convinced he didn't need them, that he would be better on his own.

Neither would budge and now he had graduated, Teuchi hoped that being placed on a team would help Naruto to open up. He had not had an ideal childhood; the ostracisation from the villagers causing his to become closed off and reserved.

After all, what was the point in making friend when everyone you spoke to hated you for a reason beyond your control?

An unsettled silence descended over the stand and Naruto stood after his fourth bowl, bringing out Gama-chan.

He saw a hand reach towards him in the corner of his vision and took up a defensive stance; his silver directed at the owner, He faltered as he saw Teuchi retract his hand, a troubled look on his face.

"Nothing gets past you, huh? No need to pay, it's on the house to celebrate you becoming a genin" Teuchi said, a faint smile making its way back onto his face.

Naruto smiled back weakly, his eye fading back to blue.

"Thanks" was all he said as turned and walked away.

Teuchi looked at the orange back as it headed further and further up the street. He hoped the boy would learn to trust in time but now he had graduated, it would be even harder for him.

Paranoia was in the job description after all.

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 **That concludes the first chapter. I hope you can review please and tell me if you liked it and what I can improve.**

 **Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita**


	2. Announcement

Hello there, author here.

So I haven't updated this story in a while and I wanted to let anyone who is interested in seeing it continued know that I haven't forgotten about it. I discovered that I am terrible at writing multiple stories at once so I am focusing on finishing one at a time.

I will be finishing 'Sticks and Stones' first, 'Blazing Form, Piercing Wind' second and then 'An Emperor's Youth'.

So I will be finishing this story in the future, it just won't be immediate. I apologise if this upsets anyone who wants the latter two sooner, but they will be continued and finished. Eventually. I just wanted to let anyone following or favouriting know. I promised myself when I started writing that I wouldn't leave a story unfinished and I am still determined to uphold it.

Thank you for your support and I will do my best to write to the utmost of my ability!

redninjalass19


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